By Mercy Omoike
Safety Professionals have called for more awareness and advocacy in promoting public safety in the country.
The experts under the aegis of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), Nigeria Chapter, made the call during the plenary session of its ongoing conference at Sheraton Hotel Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday in Lagos.
Deliberating on the conference theme Public Safety Awareness, Making the Difference Through Awareness, Intervention and Compliance they harped on the need to educate Nigerians on the efficacy of public safety practices.
According to Mr Ejike Okoli, Head, PD HSE, Nigeria LNG limited harped on the need to go back to the fundamentals of public safety.
To be honest we are at the infant stage in public safety practices in Nigeria. Looking at the safety culture ladder, it is clear that Nigeria is at the pathology and reactive stage of public safety.
We need to start thinking in the direction of how aware are Nigerians about public safety. A lot has to be done to create awareness on public safety starting from our primary schools.
We must put in our school curriculum behavioural-based safety approach. We must take individual responsibility to ensure public safety, it is all about behavioural change, Okoli said.
On his part, Mr Abiodun Kamil, a safety consultant, noted that Nigeria as a country has the instruments to drive public safety owing to the government agencies already put in place.
We must consider public safety culturally, we must domesticate the term as it refers to us. Public safety is the responsibility of all of us, we should change the paradigm,Kamil noted.
Also, Mr Amos Gwamma, Representative of the Magaji-Zango Karaf/Java Federal Constituency, called on Nigerians to be proactive in public safety practices.
We consider the area of awareness creation as regards public safety. When you see something, say something and do something. We should have the culture of reporting safety breaches.
Our system needs to be overhauled completely to achieve public safety.
A new legislation needs to be looked into as regards public safety. We also need enforcement of public safety laws, Gwamma said.
According to Mrs Monica Nwosu-Uzoma, one of the participants at the plenary session, said that enlightenment on public safety should begin from our homes and communities.
The truth is that we are at the crawling stage as regards public safety. People do not even comply with simple non-pharmaceutical protocols to prevent COVID-19 spread.
For example the average market woman does not believe that there is need for public safety. As professionals, we need to create awareness and enlightenment on public safety.
Public safety is real and we need to take responsibility, Nwosu-Uzoma said.
Mr Dapo Omolade, the Chief Executive Officer of Hybrid Group, called for compliance and awareness creation of public safety laws.
The Lagos Safety Commission has been existing for about 10 years but most Lagos residents are unaware of it. If compliance instrument are not in place, we cannot achieve public safety.
The government must put in place structures to ensure compliance on public safety. We need to do a lot of advocacy on public safety in Nigeria because our people are ignorant of it, Omolade said.
NAN reports that the ASSP Professionals would publish a communique on public safety at the end of the Two-day conference.
Source: NAN News